Jayson Werth received a text message last month shortly after he announced his retirement from Major League Baseball.

It was from Adam LaRoche, Werth's long-time Washington Nationals' teammate, with a simple pitch: Come play ball.

And that's how Werth, just seven weeks removed from his last game for the Seattle Mariners' Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, found his way to this week's Bluegrass World Series at Louisville Slugger Field, where retired Major Leaguers are coaching and playing this week against mostly college players.

Werth joined Johnny Damon, J.D. Drew, LaRoche and other notable names Monday in the starting lineup for their Louisville Stars team.

"He just loves to play and plus, shoot, he's the only one out here in shape," LaRoche said. "We needed him in the outfield."

Werth played centerfield and went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk, and he nearly hit a home run in the Stars' 5-0 victory. He said he's spent recent time coaching a team featuring his son Jackson, a 16-year-old switch-hitter.

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"You see the game from a different perspective," said Werth, who batted .267 in 15 MLB seasons and won the World Series with Philadelphia in 2008. "It's rewarding, though, because the kids are young and impressionable, and I feel like I have a lot to offer. Some of the kids ask questions and they want to know all the stuff."

For his contributions from 2011-17, Werth's name will be added alongside Frank Robinson, Pudge Rodriguez and others in the Washington Nationals' Ring of Honor in September.

"That doesn't surprise me," LaRoche said. "He was a catalyst on our team for quite a few years. He was one of my favorite teammates, and we got to play together for quite a few years. Just one of those guys, one of those gamers. Really helped us turn things around in D.C. and we just clicked."

Werth still resides near the nation's capital and said he'd be open to another role with the Nationals if presented with the right opportunity.

"I might look into doing some more stuff with the organization," he said. "I'm not quite to that point, but if they call and ask me a question, I'd answer it. (Maybe serve as) a special assistant, but I'm not sure."

Teaching and guiding young players, according to former major-leaguer and FOX Sports analyst Rick Ankiel, could be a role in which Werth excels. After retiring in 2014, Ankiel spent a year with the Nationals as a "life coach," offering his knowledge about succeeding and failing as a pitcher and resurrecting his career as an outfielder.

"If you look at Jayson's career, I think there's a lot of things people don't know," Ankiel said. "He's been traded and released and injured. He's been through a lot of things people have no clue about. I think what you remember is the stuff he did in Philly and the big contract in Washington, but before that, he had to go through it and figure it out and make sure his career got back to the best level. I think for anyone it's just about sharing those experiences."

Any future role in baseball is a possibility, Werth said. But this week, he's focused on collecting hits against college pitchers and cracking jokes in the dugout about LaRoche's lack of speed down the first-base line.

"He was one of the first calls when the tournament was announced to come out here and have some fun again," LaRoche said. "He's loving it."